The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

Eric Roth (screenplay), Eric Roth (story),

Stars:

Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Julia Ormond

Won 3 Oscars. Another 42 wins & 80 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cate Blanchett	...	Daisy
Brad Pitt	...	Benjamin Button
Julia Ormond	...	Caroline
Faune A. Chambers	...	Dorothy Baker (as Faune Chambers)
Elias Koteas	...	Monsieur Gateau
Donna Duplantier	...	Blanche Devereux
Jacob Tolano	...	Martin Gateau (as Jacob Wood)
Earl Maddox	...	Man at Train Station
Ed Metzger	...	Teddy Roosevelt
Jason Flemyng	...	Thomas Button
Danny Vinson	...	Priest Giving Last Rites
David Jensen	...	Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
Joeanna Sayler	...	Caroline Button
Taraji P. Henson	...	Queenie
Mahershala Ali	...	Tizzy (as Mahershalalhashbaz Ali)

Storyline

On the day that Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, elderly Daisy Williams (nee Fuller) is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital. At her side is her adult daughter, Caroline. Daisy asks Caroline to read to her aloud the diary of Daisy's lifelong friend, Benjamin Button. Benjamin's diary recounts his entire extraordinary life, the primary unusual aspect of which was his aging backwards, being diagnosed with several aging diseases at birth and thus given little chance of survival, but who does survive and gets younger with time. Abandoned by his biological father, Thomas Button, after Benjamin's biological mother died in childbirth, Benjamin was raised by Queenie, a black woman and caregiver at a seniors home. Daisy's grandmother was a resident at that home, which is where she first met Benjamin. Although separated through the years, Daisy and Benjamin remain in contact throughout their lives, reconnecting in their forties when in age they finally match up. Some of the revelations ...

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Plot Keywords:

button | diary | aging | hurricane katrina | hurricane | 

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Taglines:

Time is passing, even backwards.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian French

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Benjamin Button

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,213,495 (UK) (6 February 2009)

Gross:

$127,490,802 (USA) (17 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Kennedy/Marshall Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

166 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Early development of the film began in 1994.

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Goofs

The film seems to ignore the prohibition of alcohol from 1920-1932. It was only after prohibition that bourbon was widely available; prior to giving world-wide distribution of rye whiskey to Canada, when whiskey cocktails were made it was normally with the rye whiskey made by US distilleries. The original "Sazerac" was created in New Orleans in 1859 and named by John Stiller who owned the Sazerac Coffee House.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Daisy: What are you looking at, Caroline?
Caroline: The wind, mom.
[yawns]
Caroline: They say the hurricane is coming.

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Crazy Credits

The Paramount and Warner Bros. logos are in the form of mosaics constructed from several buttons.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Alec Baldwin/Jonas Brothers (2009)

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Soundtracks

"DEAR OLD SOUTHLAND"
Written by Henry Creamer & Turner Layton
Performed by Louis Armstrong
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with SONY BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

A Masterpiece

Brad Pitt is not just another handsome guy who's made it big in film. This guy is one hell of an actor who'll walk away with this year's Best Actor Oscar as will the movie garner 10 awards. It is simply a masterpiece; no words can aptly decribe the poignancy and beauty of this celluloid Renoir.

Kudos to two geniuses who wrote it;Eric Roth and Robin Swicord,masters of imagination. To think of the idea whereby the march of time runs clockwise for the entire world but backwards for Benjamin is, in itself, masterful. The concept allows for the type of intersection of people and events which has never been shown on the screen previously.

I suggest that no one reads anything about the plot because the entire impact of the film will be lost by doing so. See it with an open mind and you will be totally astounded for close to three hours. Every once in a while, a film of this brilliance comes along to take the public by storm, the last being "Million Dollar Baby," therefore get set for another movie treat of a lifetime.

Simply stated: this film is NOT to be missed.